Excerpt – Revenge Among the Renoirs by Jennifer King
Synopsis
A Serial Murderer in Belle Époque Paris. A Sleuth Out of Time.
A Mystery You’ll Race to Solve.
Revenge Among the Renoirs introduces you to Jade Beckham, an art restorer who expects nothing more dramatic than creaky floors and cold drafts when she moves into her Victorian home. But one flicker in an old mirror changes everything, catapulting her straight into 1880s Paris, a world alive with gaslit streets, outdoor dance halls, and bustling cafes.
Before Jade can catch her breath, she stumbles into a chilling crime: one of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s favorite models has been murdered… followed by another. Will there be another? The police are baffled. The artist is despondent. His family members are frightened for him.
Jade—armed with sharp instincts, an eye for detail, and no way to explain where she truly came from—is pulled into a web of secrets only she seems able to unravel. As she sifts through jealous rivals, suspicious acquaintances, and fractured relationships within Renoir’s circle, Jade must outsmart a killer who has already perfected the art of deception.
All the while, fear shadows her every step. She has no idea whether she’ll ever find her way home again, and one wrong move could trap her in the past forever.
Revenge Among the Renoirs is a richly atmospheric historical whodunit perfect for readers who crave:
classic cozy mystery clues to follow
immersive historical settings and details
a clever amateur sleuth solving a case no one else can
a touch of art and a whisper of time travel woven subtly through the story
Step into Belle Époque Paris, follow the trail of clues, and uncover a mystery that launches a sweeping seven-book historical cozy mystery series.
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Excerpt
Jade slowly opened her eyes and rolled over. She was in a strange room, what appeared to be a crowded café full of marble-topped tables and curvy wooden chairs, but it was so dim and there was so much smoke hovering in the air, she was having trouble seeing clearly.
Even though her heart was pounding and her brain was telling her this couldn’t be right, her eyes were telling her she was looking at a room decorated in the ornate Empire style of the 1800s. The gilt-framed mirror on the wall above her was flanked by two old-fashioned gilt wall sconces with milky glass globes that gave off a murky, yellowish light. Red-and-white striped flocked wallpaper led her eye up to an elaborately carved tin ceiling.
The chorus of strange noises combined with the assortment of garish, busy patterns—not to mention all of the odd sensations she was experiencing—started to overwhelm her, so Jade closed her eyes again. Okay, this is just a really weird dream I’m having, so when I open my eyes I’ll be back in my new house.
Eyes open. Same room. Same bone-chilling tile beneath her body. Same people dressed like the set of a Masterpiece Theater production all around her, some of whom glanced at her, then looked away. And now the source of the voice was hovering somewhere above her head.
“Mademoiselle, I implore you to get up. I don’t know how you got in here, but you must leave immediately,” he said. “This is a respectable establishment, and your kind isn’t welcome here.” He took two steps to his left, obviously trying to avert the prying eyes of nearby patrons who were starting to gawk. His crisp, white waiter’s apron that hung down to his shins helped block their view.
“My kind?” Jade answered, more confused than ever. She was trying hard to get to her feet, but her muscles didn’t want to cooperate. Her head felt fuzzy, and her vision wouldn’t clear. Leave it to me to dream up a surly waiter in a restaurant instead of a ripped swim-trunk model on a beach in Bali like a normal person.
“Indeed. And especially not in the state you’re in.”
“Oh, wait, you think I’m toasted.” She laughed to herself in spite of feeling a little panicky. Yup, this wins a prize for being one of the most creative and bizarre dreams my subconscious mind has ever thought up… if only it didn’t feel so real.
“No pathetic excuses, please!” he said, holding his hand upright, as if to stop her from saying anything else. “Stop making a spectacle of yourself!”
“A spectacle!” she shot back. For some odd reason, the stress of challenging circumstances often brought out Jade’s sardonic side. Under her breath, she added, “You think I’m a spectacle? Have you checked out that flocked wallpaper?”
As Jade finally got to her feet, another man wearing the same uniform as the first came around the corner, heading right towards her. And now something even more mind-blowing started happening. Jade closed her eyes and gave her head a shake, hoping that she could find a way to break out of this nightmare, but when she opened her eyes, her mind and vision cleared… and things were even weirder than she had initially thought.
Everything within the café went into slow motion. The voices and other noises in the background dropped way down in speed and pitch, and it was as if Jade and this man were trapped inside some pink-and-gold-tinged bubble.
“Well, hello there,” he said, bushy eyebrows raised. He didn’t seem disturbed by any of this, only interested.
Jade gaped at him, confused and scared out of her mind. She literally could not speak. The thought crept into her mind that perhaps this wasn’t a crazy dream after all.
He just smiled and spoke more slowly. “I said hello. And this is where you say…”
“Hello?” she whispered.
“Ahhh, mmm-hmmm. This is your first time, isn’t it?” Again, he gave her a comforting smile. He had a friendly face with deep-set, twinkling eyes that reassured Jade’s troubled mind. “What’s your name, mademoiselle?”
“J- Jade. Jade Beckham,” she answered. She could hear her voice quavering with nerves. After a long pause, she managed to stutter out, “Wh-what do you mean by ‘first time’?”
He chuckled as he answered, “First time for time travel…”
About the Author
Art is the thread that weaves through Jennifer King’s career in publishing. She has written numerous articles on art for International Artist Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, Plein Air, and Fine Art Connoisseur. She has also co-written six art instruction books.
Revenge Among the Renoirs is her first work of fiction, the introductory book in a seven-book series inspired by her love of art history. Jennifer lives in Washington State.
